Does anybody read books here?

[eclectic]

I too love to read - I cut cable TV this summer (the day after the Tour de France ended) and haven't missed it.

I don't know what reading genre I fall into, I am pretty diverse (hence the name eclectic

First of all I must admit I LOVE the Harry Potter books #5 is my favorite followed by #3. Anyone else out there closet Harry lovers?

Currently I am almost finished Undaunted Courage by Stephen E Ambrose - It is the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, I don't really like his style of writing but the content is very good

For light fast reading I really like Dan Brown and Michael Crichton - I call them airport reading, quick and easy to get into, keeps you interested and they don't require much thought to follow. Angel and Demons has been my favorite

My all time favorite book is Giants in the Earth by OE Rolvaag. It is about Norwegian immigrants to the Dakotas in the late 1800's. It in no way romanticises the experience like so many other books do. It was originally written in Norwegian in 1921 and translated to English in 1924. Just an all around great read and I highly recommend it.
(I may be a little biased as in 1898 my Great Grandmother from Sweden lived alone for 2 years in a sod house on a claim in Roberts Co SD with 2 children under the age of three while my grandfather went to the gold rush in the Klondike - it wasn't a romantic era)

[RoadRaven]

Books, huh?

Think I mighta read one of those once...

CyclChyk - have you read Nelson Demille's "The General's Daughter"? Charm School was a well written book - but dare I say that Generals Daughter is even better?

Lise - His Dark Materials trilogy is big in this house too - several fans...

LBTC - my 18 yr old daughter is a huge fan of Ann Rice and is consistently at me to read some of her books... on the "to do" list.

Currently I am reading "Romanitus" - a book about what the world might look like if the Roman Empire never fell. My daughter thinks it was great (and she is a very good judge of books) so I perservered through a slow first chapter - I'm up to chapter 5 and it seems that it was worth perservering.

[Lise]

Currently I am reading "Romanitus" - a book about what the world might look like if the Roman Empire never fell.

What an interesting concept. I'll have to add this to the list, too!

[fatbottomedgurl]

Maybe this doesn't count but I am going to Bible college and am currently reading 150 - 200 pages a week for school. Right now I am reading books on worldview/ culture, apologetics, science/ biology/ astronomy/ Darwinism/ intellligent design plus of course commentaries on scriptures. I wish I had time to read for pleasure, the last novels I read over the summer were The Fountainhead and We the Living by Ayn Rand.

[RoadRaven]

FBG - of course your study readings count!!!

I have read some really interesting things in my reading for my post-grad study - one of my papers is called "Teaching Learners of Non-English Speaking Backgrounds" - talk about a mouthful!

[uk elephant]

I love to read too!! Unfortunately I have now read all the books in the house and can't afford to go shopping for new books for a while, but here are some of my recommendations:

Most recently I have been introduced to the mad world of Robert Rankin. Very funny and completely insane. So far I have read "Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalyps" and "Sex, Drugs and Sausage Rolls".

For a very educational and at the same time very funny read try Bill Bryson. "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is a great introduction to the history of science and "Notes from a small island" is a great travel-book about the UK.

Another favorite author at the moment is Alexander McCall Smith, both is series about a private eye lady detective in Botswana (because I've been there and recognize some of the places) and his series about a random collection of people in Edinburgh (which is a place I now want to visit).

A long time favorite is Italo Calvino. I've read most of his books, if not all. Very thought provoking and a bit strange.

[CyclChyk]

UK Elephant - have you read "Fandom of the Operator" by Robert Rankin?? I checked him out on BN.com and I really want to read it!

"Romanitus" really looks interesting as well!

This better not cut into my biking time..................

[Steph]

I love to read too. My favorite genre is historical fiction. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is one of my top faves. I also like Francine Rivers and the Mark of the Lion series.

[Lise]

IMy all time favorite book is Giants in the Earth by OE Rolvaag. It is about Norwegian immigrants to the Dakotas in the late 1800's. It in no way romanticises the experience like so many other books do. It was originally written in Norwegian in 1921 and translated to English in 1924. Just an all around great read and I highly recommend it.
(I may be a little biased as in 1898 my Great Grandmother from Sweden lived alone for 2 years in a sod house on a claim in Roberts Co SD with 2 children under the age of three while my grandfather went to the gold rush in the Klondike - it wasn't a romantic era)

This is one of my favorites, too. It's sort of the antidote to Little House on the Prairie. Don't get me wrong, I read, re-read, and loved all of Laura Ingalls Wilders' books. But Giants in the Earth is a much more realistic portrayal of the pioneer experience for many immigrants. The final scene is seared in my imagination. Eclectic, I'm glad your g'g'ma survived, and the kids, too! My Swedish/Danish ancestors never made it to the plains--they settled in Michigan and were iron workers.